


All That Remains Is White Lilies

by Cuilchan



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Grief/Mourning, Light Angst, Short One Shot, missing moment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 21:52:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8940844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cuilchan/pseuds/Cuilchan
Summary: White lilies.  
I hadn’t seen them for a while. Malcolm used to court me with white lilies. He’d bring one every time he met with me and promised he would always be back before it withered. He always kept the promise.





	

_White lilies_.

I hadn’t seen them for a while. Malcolm used to court me with white lilies. He’d bring one every time he met with me and promised he would always be back before it withered. He always kept the promise. I always wondered if he enchanted some of the flowers because sometimes they remained fresh for days. Days! Whenever I asked Malcolm about it, he would chuckle and tell me my love kept them alive. A silver tongue, my husband. Never have I seen him unable to charm his way out of trouble. Garrett really took after him in this.

Anyway, he never told me his secret for the flowers. When Sandal came to me with the fresh bouquet, I stared at them for a while, unable to put the vase down.

_‘That’s it,’_ I thought. ‘ _It’s my husband. He’ll be back before the flowers wither. That’s his signature’_. But that couldn’t possibly be it. My husband was dead. My daughter was dead. My sweet, sweet daughter, too young and too scared to be left alone with her magic. She was only twelve when Malcolm died. Garrett tried to teach her what he could, whatever else he had picked up from Malcolm. He was still a child himself, but he still tried to look after her, and stay away from the Templars. We had our hands full as it were. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing two of my children to the Templars. 

 

‘Mother, are you happy?’

 

Garrett’s voice was soft, almost shy, and his question hit me out of my thoughts. Was I happy?

I put the lilies down on the table and wiped a tear from my cheek.

‘Yes, darling’ I whispered, as I pulled him close for a hug. ‘Of course. I’m just remembering. We will be alright.’

I’m not sure if I was comforting him, or he was comforting me, but the gesture kept us warm. Our spirits, anyway.

 

Sometimes it felt like memories were everything I was left with. I had to put the pieces back together. Day after day. But it wasn’t easy. I was glad Garrett and Carver managed to get back the house that belonged to my family, but I couldn’t help but feel that there was no family left to share it with.

I’m doing a disservice to my two sons, I am well aware. After everything we had seen with the Blight, we were lucky to have anything at all. Some families lost everything. We would still be family. We would still be together.

I’m just sad Malcolm didn’t get to see it. My handsome husband who looked dashing in dark blue robes and golden thread; who looked gorgeous right in himself. Sometimes it still hurts to see how much of Malcolm is there in Hawke, as he gets older; how Carver’s temper is the same my husband showed in his moody days. He’s unmistakably with us, even in the silences. Even in his absence, he showed his presence.

_So, what was the meaning of the lilies?_ Maybe my husband implicitly tried to reach out to me. I could see Malcolm shaking his head, complaining on how reckless I was, always rushing, always wearing my heart on my sleeve, for everyone to see, grab, and tear apart. I lost count on how many times he said that to me before cradling me in his arms and kissing my lips.

 

I shouldn’t have rushed. I should have talked to Garrett, should have explained how I felt, should have let him talk some sense into me. But I reached out for the white lilies.

_I would always reach out for the white lilies._

 

***

When I finally see Malcolm, he’s looking sad. He is keeping his sad ‘trying-to-be-happy-for-you’ kind of smile up. He’s wearing the same dark blue robe he was wearing when we first met. Beautiful dark features, silver at his temples, and gold in the threads of the expensive fabric.

‘You always have to rush through, don’t you?’

‘I do.’ I whisper and let out a small laugh.

Malcolm smiles and shows me the lily he had been holding all this time. He braids it in my hair, and I giggle, feeling again like the young girl I once was.

I caress his cheek and Malcolm leans into my touch.

 

_I would always reach out for the white lilies._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am, breaking some of the silence. I had many feels about Malcolm and Leandra and decided to write a small part of them. It's also one of the reasons why I'm madly in love with Legacy as a DLC, and pretty much cried with 'All That Remains'. 
> 
> If you're still here, thanks for reading! Apologies for any mistake/typos; English is not my first language. 
> 
> Until next time ~


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